The Visionary: Lisa Switkin

As a child, Lisa Switkin devoured books about other worlds, from The Secret Garden to A Wrinkle in Time; she spent her childhood in Columbus, OH, head-down in a book. As a landscape architect, Switkin calls on those same powers of imagination: "Part of the skill and fun of the job is being able to see the potential of places that might otherwise be overlooked," she says.

Although she is only 36, Switkin has already become a legend in her field. An associate partner at James Corner Field Operations and the lead designer of New York City's High Line, she transformed a derelict stretch of elevated train tracks into a dynamic park with more than 200 types of plants. The High Line is the first of its kind in the country, and more than two million people visited the park in 2010. Switkin explains, "Many cities have had ideas for converting sites like this  landfills, abandoned plants, decommissioned waterfronts  into parks, but they weren't able to effectively communicate the value of this transformation to others. The High Line has attracted commerce, restaurants, a vibrant street life, and visitors. The benefits aren't only evident; they're measurable. Now other cities can study them for future projects."

Switkin takes special joy in sharing the High Line with the people she loves: her niece, her nephews, and her fiancé, Elijah Saintonge (whom she calls simply "a wonderful man"). The park is Switkin's real-life secret garden  one that she now happily shares with the world.

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